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UPDATE 08/11/97 OHIO-- A judge in late July dismissed charges of misconduct in an emergency situation and resisting arrest filed…

Posted on August 11, 1997

UPDATE

08/11/97

OHIO– A judge in late July dismissed charges of misconduct in an emergency situation and resisting arrest filed against a Columbus Dispatch reporter who had been covering a hostage situation from a nearby yard.

Judge James Green dismissed the charges against Dean Narcisco, in Franklin County Municipal Court, after the city prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to proceed.

Narcisco was arrested in mid-July while he observed a three-hour-long hostage standoff from a neighbor’s yard with the neighbor’s permission.

Officers said in a report that Narcisco tried to run when they approached him, and had refused to be handcuffed. The police report also indicated the police knew Narcisco was a reporter, according to the Associated Press.

Dispatch attorney John Zeiger said reporters are exempt from the misconduct statute, as long as they are acting in a lawful manner.

The city attorney, Janet Jackson, said she will ask the police chief and the city safety director to review the media policies involving hostage situations.

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